Mr.
Galaxy's Supernovae
Mr.
Galaxy's Supernovae
"Mr. Galaxy" is the honorary title bestowed upon Wayne P. Johnson by the members of the Orange County Astronomers in recognition for his accomplishments and for his research on galaxies and supernovae.
Mr. Johnson's educational background includes an AA degree in physics from Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ; BSEE degree form Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ; Post-graduate studies in engineering at California State University in Fullerton; and graduate physics courses at the University of California, Riverside.
Mr. Johnson has held prominent positions with several leading aerospace and educational organizations. A summary of his experiences is outlined as follows.
- Rockwell International / Boeing North American - Advanced infrared optical technology.
- University of California at Riverside - High energy astrophysics.
- Patterson Electronics - CCD cameras for astronomical imaging.
- Mount Wilson Observatory - Electronic imaging equipment for the 60" and 100" telescopes.
- Radiographic Equipment Services - X-ray machine imaging systems.
- Rockwell International - Infrared systems on digital scan converter, B1, and F111 programs.
- Northrop Corporation - Hardware design engineer, infrared systems.
Having discovered five supernovae, Mr. Galaxy is currently the second-leading discoverer of supernovae among all amateur astronomers according to the International Supernovae Network. (Rev. Robert O. Evans from Australia is the world's leading supernovae discoverer among all amateur astronomers with 35 discoveries!)
Mr. Galaxy is currently associated with or involved with several leading organizations associated with astronomy, as listed below.
- HAC - Mr. Galaxy is the 2007 president of the Huachuca Astronomy Club.
- OCA - Mr. Galaxy is currently the vice president of the Orange County Astronomers. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees and as the Director of the Research and Responsible Manager for the 22" Kuhn Telescope at the Anza Observatory.
- EOA - Mr. Galaxy is one of the lead organizers of the Electronics Oriented Astronomy Group of the Orange County Astronomers. This is the largest special interest groups sponsored by the OCA. Projects the members have worked on include digital setting circles, image intensifiers, CCD drivers and image processing software. The largest current project is a radio telescope.
- AstroImage'96 - Wayne Johnson served as Papers Chair for Astroimage'96. Mr. Galaxy is one of the original founders of this conference dedicated to astro-imaging.
- RAS - Mr. Galaxy is past vice president and the current program chairman of the Riverside Astronomical Society.
- SunSEARCH - The SN Search and Follow-up Group - Mr. Galaxy has been director of the SunSEARCH program since 1991. He was also the editor and publisher of the organization's StarBURST newsletter, until it ceased publication. Now SunSEARCH is working more on a Web presence and in cooperation with the ISN.
- RTMC - Mr. Galaxy serves on the board of the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference.
- Discovery Museum of Orange County - Mr. Galaxy is a member of the Board for this historical organization with the intention of establishing an in-town observatory with an 8-inch Clark refractor.